Freedom's Spirit
by FierChild
Summary: A story of a brother's love that reaches across a normally unbreachable barrier.


**Freedom's Spirit**

By: FierChild

A/N: This is a story for all those who have lost their lives defending freedom. You will never be forgotten.

My thoughts were scattered as I moved silently through the cage area of the Yeerk Pool. Unlike all the times before, I hadn't come leading the Animorph army to cause trouble. I had only come with one person and one purpose.

I would free my brother from this place of torment. I would free him from hell.

My friends had been in shock when they found me wandering without direction through the forest that had become Ax and Tobias's home. They reacted in disbelief that I was who I was. Then they told me something that had me doubting who I was; they said I was dead.

That's right. Dead. Shot in the back of the head by my own brother. Or, his Yeerk any way. Either way, the result was the same, bloody guts on a pillow and a dead corpse that looked like it was sleeping on a messy bed.

They said they had tried to free Tom, thinking he would have the leadership skills they seemed to lack when they tried to lead without me. However, they discovered that, by killing me, the Yeerk had in fact killed Tom. He had stared at the open door of his cage without comprehension of his own freedom.

Hell, the Yeerks didn't even bother to lock his cage anymore. He was defeated.

Marco and the others had tried to free him by having Ax pose as me, but the Yeerks had attacked forcing Ax into his normal form. Tom had shut down even further after that. The Yeerks took him back with no struggle on his part. He had died for real that time, like Ax had driven the knowledge that he had killed me so far down, he couldn't even pretend he hadn't done it.

Ax had looked guilty as he said that, but I hadn't cared. All I cared about was getting Tom out of this place. Even now I could hear the screams of the lost souls the Yeerks were destroying. Those that hadn't lost themselves like my brother had.

I crept to the cage where Tom sat. Like the guys had said, Tom was sitting in an unlocked cage, just staring. I knew he couldn't see anything. His eyes were empty, dead. I chuckled darkly, that was an ironic word for me to use. I was supposed to be dead. Shot in the back of the head by my brother's slaver.

The sound actually brought Tom back to reality, whereas the screams and cries of the damned behind us meant nothing to him. Then again, that wasn't really fair. I knew it meant something, but he was still trapped in the past. He was still seeing me die. I watched as his eyes focused on me. They widened.

"Jake?" He moved forward with a disbelieving look, and then the look died as his countenance darkened. "How do I know if it's you and not some Andalite again?"

I moved closer. "I can prove it, Tom. But not here, it's not safe." Tom continued to stare with suspicion. I sighed a little angrily. "Look, Tom, I will prove that I'm not in morph now, but I can't do it here. It would endanger me." I regretted saying that in front of my brother, who supposedly had shot me while I slept. I really wasn't certain I believed that, but it seemed it had been the right thing to say, as Tom quickly got up and moved out of the cage.

It didn't take us long to leave the pool with me leading the way outside. Tom stuck close to me the whole time, always looking back to make certain we were not being followed. I sighed mentally, I should have had someone else come, but I had really felt that I must do this alone.

Once we made it to safety, the place where I was going to meet my friends, Tom stopped me. "All right, now prove it."

I stared at him blankly for a few seconds, and then remembered what he was asking. I sighed, but moved a little further back and faced him. I knew my brother too well to think he would move any further before this was resolved. Focusing, I called upon my falcon morph. As the changes occurred, I could the shock and disbelief on Tom's face, horror from the changes that never seemed to follow a pattern.

As the changes completed, I looked up at him. _Do I need to continue? I have quite a few more to go through._

He shook his head. "I believe you." His voice was choked and thick. He sounded on the verge of tears, which was precisely how I felt.

I demorphed, still watching Tom. The instant I was human, I found myself in a huge bear hug. And believe me, I know a bear hug. "Tom?"

"Jake." The hug got a little bit tighter. "Midget, I killed you. I saw you die." His tears were soaking through my morphing suit. "You were right there on your bed. Sleeping; you never got a chance to wake up." He broke down into quiet sobs. Each one made me realize just how much it had killed him to see me die.

There wasn't anything I could say. I pulled gently away from Tom. "Come on, the others are still waiting for us." Tom nodded mutely and wiped his tears. Small sniffles escaped as he tried to calm himself. We headed toward my friends' location. We had been walking for an hour when I suddenly felt light-headed. I stumbled.

"Jake?"

I turned around for a second to smile reassuringly. "I'm fine. Morphing can get tiring, even just a little bit." I prayed he'd fell for that, because I really didn't know what was wrong. We continued walking until it happened again. This time, it was clear what was going on.

"Jake!"

I raised my hand to see it. Or to see through it, as the case was, perhaps clear wasn't the best word to use there. More like transparent. I was fading. It was gradual, but I was definitely disappearing.

I flew over the trees, watching for Jake and Tom. Ax, Rachel, and the others were walking below, waiting for me to spot them. I soared higher using a thermal I had just caught. There they were! Why were they just standing there? And why was it so hard to see Jake? Oh, God. . .

_Guys! I see them, but something's up with Jake! He's fading!_ I saw them stumble, and Marco looked up suspiciously. _I mean it you guys! He's fading! We're losing him! MOVE!_ That got them going. Marco and Cassie were heading the pack; Ax was only behind them because he still didn't understand. But he knew me well enough to know I wouldn't kid like that.

I swooped in from above and perch precariously on a branch near Jake. Jake!

He looked up at me, and then turned as everyone came crashing through the thicket. They stopped in total astonishment as Jake continued to fade away. Tom stood there, shaking his head as his brother continued to fade bit-by-bit. I really couldn't blame him. He had just been freed by the brother he'd thought he killed; only to discover it was only a remnant of the boy-warrior's soul.

'It's like watching one of those dying computer screens. As it fades, you know what's going to happen, but you're too stupefied that it's happening to you to do anything.' I thought morbidly.

Jake, or what remained of him, fisted his heads and looked at his brother with a fierceness I had only seen in our most dire of circumstances. "Promise me you'll never give up the fight. Promise me, Tom!"

"Jake. . ." Tom whispered. His mind still refusing to believe what it was seeing.

Jake was now a phantom against the forest wall. From a warped sense of humor, I took note of a rabbit behind him. It looked like it had peach and grayish gauze over it.

Jake's voice took on a sense of desperation. "Promise me! You have to promise!" His voice seemed to echo now, like he was calling across a long tunnel.

Like he was calling to his brother, to everyone, from beyond the grave.

Jake shimmered one last time, and then vanished into the wind. He was resting once more, and the wind rose to echo his final plea. "_Promise me. . ._"

Tears were streamed from everyone's eyes, even Ax, our resident stone. Then again, I guess Andalites don't normally cry, but that just made it so much worse to see his tears. I landed and demorphed. Rachel needed whatever support I could give her, though I wasn't much better. My vision was about as clear as looking through a thin puddle of water. I closed my eyes against the sting of tears. Rachel's arms surrounded me.

Tom just stood there, in shock of his brother's disappearance. Then he seemed to snap. **_"JAKE!"_**

". . . I promise." Tom whispered as the wind died down in mourning. Nature fell silent, bereaving the loss of a hero.

"Jake. We all promise."

We will remember.


End file.
